NYT's Charlie Savage Is Fast and Loose with Fast and Furious Facts

Charlie Savage at The New York Times is at it again. Since October I’ve reported the different times he’s distorted the truth on Operation Fast & Furious. He even misled Representative Paul Gosar’s office on an article that turned out to be a hit piece on those who care and report about Fast & Furious. He twists his articles about testimonies to make the DOJ officials look like victims and the GOP like monsters.

This time Mr. Savage reported Speaker John Boehner was trying to cut a deal with Attorney General Eric Holder. In response to Chairman Darrell Issa’s letter, Deputy Attorney General James Cole told the GOP leadership he hopes things will be resolved soon and that he is open to meeting with them personally at any time. In the original article, Mr. Savage said Speaker Boehner “opened direct negotiations with the Department of Justice aimed at resolving a dispute over subpoenaed information related to the botched gun-trafficking investigation dubbed Operation Fast and Furious.”

Boehner spokesman Michael Steel told Matthew Boyle at The Daily Caller this is not true. In an email Mr. Steel told me the exact same thing.

This story shows how the mainstream media is ignoring this scandal and covering up for the Department of Justice. Staff for the Speaker, other leadership offices, and Chairman Issa have been encouraging Attorney General Holder’s staff to comply for weeks or months to no avail, but there have certainly been no direct talks between the Speaker and Attorney General, and the department is still stonewalling.

Speaker Boehner posted a blog entry and said the NYT never contacted his office about this story.

The first article was published at 6:51PM. Mr. Savage updated the article at 11:39PM. He took out the statement and changed the article, but did not change the headline. Now the headline doesn’t match up with the article.

This is also not the first time media outlets published false information about Fast & Furious and Speaker Boehner without confirmation. Politico published a story the morning of May 10 insisting GOP leaders were delaying a vote on Mr. Holder. Later that day Mr. Boehner said at a press conference that all options are on the table. Just a few days ago The Hill and Politico gave contradicting reports on the progress of Mr. Holder’s contempt charges.